Zulu royal household demands clarity on billionaire Robert Gumede's Tongaat Hulett deal

The Zulu Royal Household has given South Africa's trade minister five business days to explain a transaction involving Tongaat Hulett, and warned that it will otherwise consider legal measures.

Inkosi Malusi Zondi, the Zulu Royal Chancellor, wrote to Parks Tau, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, this week about the proposed deal between the Industrial Development Corporation and Vision Group, according to Scrolla.Africa, which has seen the letter.

Zondi told the minister that Tongaat Hulett is not an ordinary commercial enterprise and that its operations are deeply embedded in the economy, history and social fabric of KwaZulu-Natal. He said the continued absence of clear, authoritative and comprehensive information about the company's position and the proposed IDC transaction is fuelling speculation, mistrust and fear over its future ownership, governance, funding and operations.

The people carrying the greatest risk have not been consulted, he wrote, listing traditional leaders and councils, sugarcane growers, employees, local businesses, contractors and affected communities.

He asked for a full written response within five business days, including proposed dates for a stakeholder briefing and the names of senior officials authorised to speak for the department and the IDC. If that request is not treated with the urgency it deserves, he wrote, the royal household and affected stakeholders will be compelled to consider all appropriate lawful measures available to secure transparency, accountability and meaningful participation.

He was careful about what he is not doing. The objective is not to obstruct a lawful and sustainable solution, he wrote, but to ensure any solution protects the company's strategic assets, preserves employment, supports growers, advances transformation and recognises the economic interests of the traditional communities of KwaZulu-Natal. Continued silence, he said, is neither responsible nor sustainable.

The letter followed a weekend meeting in Durban. Robert Gumede and his associates briefed King Misuzulu kaZwelithini on plans to revive the provincial economy through Tongaat Hulett, telling him the company would produce ethanol and sell electricity to Eskom, lifting demand from KwaZulu-Natal cane growers.

People in the king's circle were not persuaded. Scrolla.Africa reports unhappiness afterwards over what some felt were empty promises, despite Gumede's stated commitment to save the company and empower the king's subjects.

Why the royal household has standing here is a matter of land. The Ingonyama Trust, which King Misuzulu chairs, holds roughly 2.8 million hectares in KwaZulu-Natal, close to 30% of the province, and small-scale growers on that land supply the mills Gumede now owns.

Gumede and Vision Group completed their purchase of Tongaat Hulett in March. The IDC provides post-commencement funding to the business rescue in exchange for a 25% stake in Vision's southern African sugar operations, and it is that arrangement the letter targets rather than the original acquisition.

A business forum led a mass protest against Tongaat Hulett last week.

Gumede asked Scrolla.Africa to send questions by WhatsApp, saying he could not take calls, and had not responded by the time it published. Raymond Jones of the IDC and Kaamil Alli, spokesperson for Tau, could not be reached and did not respond to questions.

The company has had a difficult fortnight. The Constitutional Court ruled against it on Aug. 24 in a decision costing about $32 million, and the rival bidder Terris Sugar continues to challenge the process that selected the Vision-led rescue plan.